Posts tagged “guest post”

First thing, on this day after the U.S. presidential elections I would like to congratulate President Obama on his reelection. My top prediction for 2012 – made nearly a year ago and reiterated many times since — was that Obama would easily win reelection, primarily because all of the Republican contenders had baggage that was likely to keep some of the Republican base from voting. Therefore, I did not believe that the country was likely to see any major shift in energy policy, and the next four years will be similar to the past four years.

It has been a while since I hosted a guest post in my column here. I decided to host this one by Paul Stinson from North Hampton, New Hampshire because he offers up a thought-provoking concept that I have not encountered elsewhere. I am uncertain whether a proposal such as this could work, but I thought it was worth offering up to readers because it is really outside-the-box thinking. It has some similarities to my own proposals for incentivizing renewable energy production that would shift risks from the taxpayer into the private sector, and it is a detailed piece of work. CONTINUE»

The following is a guest post from OilPrice.com. The subject — China’s foray into hydraulic fracturing — was also the topic of an energy roundtable I participated in this past summer: Roundtable on China’s Energy Future. My view is that the more energy China can produce domestically, the better for everyone as it keeps some pressure off of international energy markets. President Obama apparently agrees, based on the 2009 shale gas technology initiative he signed with Chinese President Hu Jintao. ——————————- China to Embrace Fracking In an Effort to Ramp up Energy Production China is leaving no shale deposit unturned in its effort to develop indigenous energy resources. On 24 November China’s Ministry of Land and Resources geological exploration department… Continue»

The following is a guest post from Oilprice.com, republished with permission to R-Squared. For years many Germans warned that nuclear was the only way they could meet the energy needs of their population and reduce carbon emissions at the same time. Now that they have decided to shut down their nuclear plants, they are preparing to build new coal-fired power plants to help close the shortfall. The guest post below explains. —————————– On 30 May, in the aftermath of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that Germany would close all of its 18 nuclear power plants between 2015 and 2022, which produce about 28 percent of the country’s electricity. Eight have now been taken offline, and with… Continue»

This week on R-Squared we have a guest post by Steven Pleging. Mr. Pleging is CEO/President of Quantum Solar Power Corp. I am in general agreement with the points made below; in fact I reiterated several times at this year’s ASPO conference that I believe solar power will be the renewable sector that makes the biggest long-term impact in our effort to wean away from fossil fuels. Since I wrote A Solar Thought Experiment in 2007 (and the follow-up Replacing Gasoline with Solar Power), prices for solar PV have plummeted and made my pricing assumptions obsolete. In the thought experiment(s) I calculated the area required to equal all U.S. electrical generating capacity (and later gasoline consumption) with solar power. Of… Continue»

The following is a guest post from OilPrice.com. The subject matter is of great interest, as Germany is in the early stages of an experiment that is likely to prove challenging. Nuclear power advocates in Germany — including members of Merkel’s cabinet — have insisted that they can’t meet their greenhouse gas targets without nuclear power. Many have predicted that they will be forced to use more coal, and as this article points out they may end up importing nuclear power. Whether and how Germany adjusts to the sudden loss of nuclear power will demonstrate to the rest of the world that in fact it isn’t easy being green. ——————————- Germany – It’s Not Easy Being Green Forty-one years ago… Continue»

The following is a guest post from OilPrice.com. ——————————- In the Aftermath of Fukushima, Germany’s Renewable Energy Sources Rise to 20 Percent The worldwide implications for nuclear power advocates in light of the 11 March disaster at Japan’s Daichi Fukushima nuclear complex, battered first by an earthquake and a subsequent tsunami, are slowly unfolding. Nations committed to nuclear power are being subjected to a relentless PR barrage by nuclear construction firms, who stand to lose billions if current contracts are suspended or, even worse, canceled. Despite the bland reassurances of the nuclear power industry that “it can’t happen here,” in Europe, Italy has canceled plans to construct nuclear reactors, while Germany’s Bundestag last month passed a resolution to close all… Continue»

I just finished writing the 4th chapter in my book tonight. This chapter was a primer on renewable energy, covering biomass, hydropower, wind, solar, geothermal, and ocean energy technologies. Interesting tidbit from this chapter: The world’s largest producer of geothermal power is the U.S. oil company Chevron. How many people would have guessed that? The chapter kept me busy this week, but fortunately I have a timely guest post available. The following guest post from OilPrice.com addresses last week’s announcement of a potential half billion dollar investment by several government agencies to develop advanced biofuels. ————————– On 16 August President Obama announced that the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Energy and Navy will invest up to $510 million by 2014 in… Continue»

As hostilities in Libya wind down, one thing is clear: A number of nations will jockey for access to Libya’s oil. It happened in Iraq, where ironically the U.S. was shut out as Russia, China, and France won bids to develop Iraq’s fields. The new government in Iraq demanded terms very much in Iraq’s favor — and got them. U.S. companies simply weren’t willing to pay what China paid for access to Iraq’s oil. I would expect Libya to have taken notes from what companies were willing to concede in Iraq and demand similar terms. And regardless of who ends up there, one of the countries will certainly be China (they also had a big presence in the old regime)…. Continue»

The following is a guest post from Andrew Smolski of OilPrice.com. ———————————– Alternative energy (or renewable energy) is a new manufacturing industry paradigm that is in its infancy. However, the discussion is not new, and it looks as if the United States has positioned itself to be behind history on what can be a very promising industry for a stumbling economy. After the oil shortages in the 70′s, government officials began discussing energy policy as a matter of national security, but this misses the point of a globally competitive economic world. It was too early then to begin thinking that China could out-invest the United States in order to produce an alternative energy manufacturing industry. Yet, now we must come… Continue»

The following guest post is from OilPrice.com. ——————————– Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX) is the state-owned oil company (and natural gas) of México, which since the 90′s has been discussed for privatization like many other state-owned companies in México. The policy of privatization is sometimes called liberalizing the company, however many aspects of privatization need to be taken into consideration when discussing such a lucrative portion of the federal budget for México. PEMEX has 41 divisions, and is a source of Mexican sovereignty, and any talk of privatization will not happen without a strong fight, not only from the left, but also Mexican nationalists who see it as a source of pride. This article will attempt to give a brief summary of… Continue»